From Kaikoura to Picton, New Zealand‏

Graeme and I left Kaikoura yesterday morning under heavy overcast skies. It had rained in the night. New Zealand’s weather is reputed to be quite changeable, and this country is living up to expectations in this and in all other ways.

But since the morning was dreary, we cancelled our plans for a helicopter flight over the Kaikoura Peninsula and continued our drive north. Changing again, the weather cleared by noon and we had clear skies when we stopped at a landmark roadside restaurant directly on the South Pacific Ocean called “The Store at Kekerengu.” This delightful restaurant reminded me strongly of the Nepenthe Restaurant on the Big Sur Coast. For my lunch I chose what the Kiwis call a crayfish and I call a lobster.

Feasting on Lobster

Click on the picture above to enlarge

We drove along the ocean for several hours, stopping several times to see the seals.

A Seal Hauled Out on the Rocks

Click on the picture above to enlarge

Our destination today was Picton, near the north end of the South Island and the terminus of the ferry to Wellington, New Zealand’s capital, on the south end of the North Island. The far northern end of the South Island is Cape Farewell. To get an idea of how big this island is, consider this. The city that is the island’s furthest south is Invercargill. Google Maps says that it takes 15 hours to drive the 1,105 km (687 miles) between the two points. By comparison, Portland, Maine, and Richmond, Virginia are only 657 miles apart.

Since the afternoon was sunny and warm, Graeme and I walked for an hour or so along the Queen Charlotte Sound.

Graeme on the Trail Along the Queen Charlotte Sound

Click on the picture above to enlarge

We passed through groves of Manuka trees, where New Zealand’s bees make the country’s exceptional Manuka honey, which is high in antioxidants and is actually used for healing wounds, as I wrote in an article years ago. Graeme had given me a taste of this delicious honey the previous day.

We walked to the end of the trail at Bob’s Bay, where I collected a couple of sea shells and took this shot of one of the ferry’s leaving for Wellington:

A Ferry En Route to Wellington Through the Queen Charlotte Sound

A Few of the Sailboats in a Regatta

Click on the pictures above to enlarge

Near the end of the trail we spotted a large group of sailboats out for a sail at the end of the week. Not all of them stayed dry. Note the capsized boat at the far right. Not all adventures go smoothly.